Action on live export unavoidable

It has now been three weeks since ABC news exposed extreme live export cruelty. In that time, over 2,000 people have written individual letters to Minister Damien O’Connor asking for him to act to end live export.

When animals leave New Zealand, we lose the ability to care for their welfare. Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor is putting these animals out of sight, out of mind. He cannot do this anymore.

SAFE has put the cruelty of live export very much in plain sight and in the minds of Wellingtonians, with a massive billboard erected on busy street Thorndon Quay (see photo). The Billboard is on a busy road near Parliament, and visible from all the commuter trains that make their way into Wellington every day.

We also ran a full-page message to Damien O’Connor in the Dominion Post newspaper (see photo), as well as a series of online ads. The Dominion Post is delivered daily to Parliament.

Damien O’Connor and the Ministry for Primary Industries were alerted to the appalling animal suffering in the Wellard live export deal – where 500 cows have died and hundreds more are dying – three months before ABC News published the story. Yet they chose to do nothing until the story hit the media. Damien O’Connor has the power to immediately halt all live export of cattle from New Zealand.

Gareth Hughes even questioned the Agriculture Minister as to why he failed to act on the information provided to him in January. The answers given showed that there is little to no regard for animal welfare once animals leave New Zealand. It is imperative that this Government ends all live export to countries that do not meet New Zealand’s animal welfare standards.

Take Action:

Join the call asking Damien O’Connor to end live export.

Find our More:

• Watch Gareth Hughes question the Government on their inaction on live export.
•  Read how the Minister’s actions are threatening the Government’s “Brand Kindness”